Autumn Tornadic Supercell
and Monster Hailstorm
Cherokee, Oklahoma
About one out of every five years the southern plains experiences
a secondary tornado season in the fall. On September 22, 1985 a stalled front
in northwest Oklahoma combined with low 90 degree temperatures to produce a
spectuclar supercell. In addition to dropping an F-2 tornado this storm was
responsible for the second largest hailstones I have witnessed in 28 years of
chasing. The diameter of the stones was approximately six inches. This is close
to the size of the record setting hail that fell in September of 1970 on
Coffeyville, Kansas.
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This image depicts an extensive updraft area over and to the
northeast of Cherokee. Only narrow streamers of precipitation were falling at
the time and the storm appeared to lack many supercell characteristics. The
reason I picked this particular area was the 30 minutes the updraft persisted
without precipitation falling. The atmosphere was extremely unstable and I
expected quite a show when this updraft collapsed. I had no idea just how bad
it would be.
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During this image the almost stationary storm produced a
very strong outflow from the weak precipitation area to the north. I was
shocked by not only the magnitude of the wind, but the events that followed. I
estimated the speed of the downburst close to 80 MPH. The leading edge of this
surge of wind moved rapidly south, then suddenly stopped and went directly up
into the nearby updraft. This was the first time I had seen the process of a
forming tornado happen so quickly. The long streamer shown in the image was
rotating and lifting up at a phenomenal speed. |
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As the tornado formed I moved north to a road that would allow
freedom of movement to the east. During this maneuver I passed under the
updraft to the northeast of the forming funnel and got wacked with 4 and 5 inch
hailstones. I backed off then tried again. As I punched through the hail it
became 6 inches in diameter. The spiked and irregular sized stones were falling
from a dark rain free updraft. As I sped east the bed of my small Toyota pickup
took a couple of hits from the large stones. Each hit was accompanied by the
sound of bending metal. In order to escape the hail I had to travel further
east than I desired, thus losing position on the developing tornado. I did stop
for a few minutes to take this image. Can you see the tornado? It's in the rain
on the left side of the image. Another funnel is forming in te center of the
image but it never got planted like the one on the left. I provided a second
enhanced image (below) that brings out the tornado better. The contrast was run
up higher to bring out the details in the combination debris cloud - rotating
rain curtain. Within seconds of taking this image the massive hail caught me
again. As I ran from the hail the tornado extended a black condensation funnel
to ground.
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This slow moving tornado produced F-2 damage and a path width of
500 yards for a distance of 4 miles. Note the width of the circulation on the
ground compared with the funnel. This appearance is much like the beginning
stages of the Red Rock tornado
where the circulation on the ground was dramatically wider than the pointed V
funnel. Note a more intense area of debris is depicted on the far right side of
the image. The circulation may have been concentrated in this area. On high
resolution systems you may be able to make out a thin needle funnel curving
down to the right. This may have been responsible for the more concentrated
debris on the right side.
During this time I attempted to warn motorists
of the danger from the very large hail. As I tried to tell them about the size
of the hail a few listened and some only laughed. One individual did take me
seriously and drove south to escape the storm. He returned in a few minutes
with very large dents. The hail was falling from the anvil to the south and he
had driven into the worst streamer. I remember in particular one person with a
new red Firebird. He gave me a big smile upon hearing my story then sped into
the storm with a wave. His vehicle came to a screaming halt about one mile to
my west. I could see the massive stones busting on the pavement and large
chunks scattering across the highway. Moments later he roared by me, headed
east at a high rate of speed. Large chunks of ice were stuck in the cowling
below the windshield.
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The storm became a large HP (heavy precip) cell as it moved east
over hwy #11 to the Great Salt Plains. The strong rotation persisted as
depicted here by the spiral banding. The two low level cloud bands were
converging at the center of the image. Hard to see on the far right is a large
flock of birds flying out of the storm's path.
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